In 1922 the entry by Walter Seymour Allward was announced as the winner. Allward’s design would be later erected at Vimy Ridge, France (you can read more about my visit to this memorial here. The runner-up was the design submitted by Frederick Chapman Clemesha which you see in today’s photograph. Also known as the “Brooding Soldier,” Clemesha’s design was built at St Julien, Belgium.

This striking granite memorial, which stands at 11 metres (35ft) tall, can be seen from miles around. The bowed head of the Canadian solider at the top of it stands as a powerful symbol of remembrance. On the memorial is a small plaque which reads:

“THIS COLUMN MARKS THE BATTLEFIELD WHERE 18,000 CANADIANS ON THE BRITISH LEFT WITHSTOOD THE FIRST GERMAN GAS ATTACKS THE 22-24 APRIL 1915 2,000 FELL AND LIE BURIED NEARBY.”

Standing in front of the memorial surrounded by its beautifully kept grounds, you cannot help but take a moment to stop and think of what horror faced those brave men during April 1915. Like so many locations we visited during my trip to Belgium and France earlier this year, this site at St. Julien brings home to me the importance of remembrance, what happened should never be forgotten and it is up to us to keep the memory of of those brave men, and what they fought for alive.

Happy #PhotoFriday everyone! Today’s instalment is an image I kept back from my recent post about my trip to the Canadian Nation Vimy memorial in France earlier this year. It features a view of its pair of Seget limestone pylons, and the figure of Canada Bereft (also known as Mother Canada) looking downwards.

A special royal themed #photofriday this week to celebrate HM The Queen’s 90th Birthday. Here is a view of the Magnificent Buckingham Palace taken from the Victoria Monument, London.Buckingham Place from the Victoria Memorial, London.

Hope you have enjoyed this edition of #PhotoFriday, have a great weekend!

To be truthfully I was debating right up to the moment I logged on to my blog whether or not to right about this or not, only because I thought that you might not find my first adventure in to the world of pen and ink drawing interesting. Then I thought, well why not it’s creative! Plus it would be good to get some feedback.

So here’s a little background. Ever since I could hold a pen I have doodled. Even as a child, my mother thought it best to buy rolls of lining paper instead of sketchpads as I went through so much paper (sorry rainforests!) all through school and on to art school and even now art and design has been my life, I would go as far to say as I am obsessed!

Since school I have always sketched in my sketchbook practically on a daily basis, some days offerings are better than others. Sketching is a fundamental part of a creative persons life, it is where explore new ideas, capture moments, reflect of our techniques, try new things etc. It is a sandbox for my creative mind.

I have always loved the work of Aubrey Beardsley and M.S. Escher, and have been fascinated by the way they master the power of the line and tone in monochrome.

New sketchbook

So taking a brand new Sketchbook out of its clear plastic wrapping, I opened it and look at the crisp clean blank page and pondered for a few seconds of what to do with it. The truth was, I had no idea. I started to sketch the works ink drawing right in the centre of the page and then let my mind wander allowing my pencil to create lines and shapes in a free flowing and spontaneous manner. Any one knowing me this approach is very unlike me, normally I liked a meticulous planned approach where I know exactly what I am going to go before my pencil hits the paper. Not only was this my first attempt at a ink pen drawing, it was the first time I worked totally spontaneously.

Sketchbook with chosen drawing items

In hindsight I should have took pictures of the different stages of the drawing, so I’m afraid I will just have to jump right to the end and show you the finished result.

Finished Drawing

What do you think? As a first attempt I’m quite pleased with the result. I would really love to hear what you think. In fact if you have any tips I would love to hear about them too!

Close-up of the finished drawing

I know that it is far from perfect, there are a few stray-lines, mistakes and a little irregular spacing of some of the elements, But hey, it’s only my first attempt and I’m not going to beat myself up too much. The only way to progress is to make mistakes and learn from them. The main objective in creating this title page was write a descriptive title in order to differentiate this particular sketchbook from the many others that I have. So whether I have been successful or just carried away with myself, I will let you make your own mind up about it.

So what’s next? Honestly, I don’t know. But what I can tell you is that I am going to continue on this pen and ink adventure and I will see where it takes me. What I would like to see happen is for me to become more confident in the medium and be able to produce works for you to be able to buy, as well as create elements which I can combine with my photography and Photoshop skills to create unique mixed media digital art works for you to buy. So I hope you will join me on this journey. At the moment it appears to be a little of a magical mystery tour but please hang on in there!

When I manage to create something new in my sketchbook I will share it with you, please let me know what you think!

Driving into Morecambe along Central Drive, just before we pass the former Promenade Railway Station, I catch the first glimpse of the glorious Midland Hotel. Unlike the last time I was in Morecambe (you can read about it here), I came prepared. The second the car engine stopped, it was as quick as I could grab my camera and walk excitedly the short distance from the car park to the iconic Art Deco landmark. In this post I want to share with you some images that I took that day.

Front facade of the Midland Hotel Morecambe.

No matter how many times you look at images of this building, nothing prepares you for the impact it has when you are standing outside it in person. It’s bold streamlined shape, the crisp horizontal banding which runs perpendicular to the glazing of the central stair tower, amongst other attributes takes a firm grasp of your attention and sends your imagination reeling wondering what it would be like to stay there.

The entrance Pillars of the Midland Hotel Morecambe.

Spiralling upwards from the white boundary walls these entrance pillars rise up, greeting all who visit the hotel with a bold introduction to what they are about to encounter when they reach the front door and step inside. Although the pillars resemble a stylised seashell, they also echo the impressive spiral staircase located inside the hotel itself.

Front facade of the Midland Hotel from the left.

With its collection of curves, horizontal banding, vertical cylinder shapes, the building can be appreciated more when look it a little to the left or right. You can see and appreciate how all these various planes intersect and combine together to create this iconic building. It is from this angle that you can really appreciate the duo of seahorses positioned aloft the entrance tower.

The Midland Hotel Morecambe rear facade or the right.

From the rear of the hotel it is just as impressive as the front. Here it resembles a transatlantic ocean liner, like the Queen Mary, or the Normandie. It’s sweeping convex curves mimick the curve of the beautiful Morecambe Bay coastline.

The Midland Hotel rear facade from the left.

This is my favourite image from all the photographs I took that day. It shows the buildings curving form at its best. To the left of the image you can see the café which, when you look through the glazing bars, you can get a taste of the restored mural originally designed by Eric Ravilious.

View of the Midland Hotel from the Pier.

This iconic building makes not attempt to blend into the landscape it was designed and built to be a bold architectural statement, and today it still does. This hotel played a large part in creating the bustling seaside resort of yesteryear and now fully restored, it is at the forefront of the towns regeneration.

All these images have been given the ReClick Photo treatment and if you would like to read all about what I did to prepare them for this post you can do so in todays second blog post: The Midland Hotel Revisited: Behind the Scenes.

I Hope you have enjoyed these images as much as I did taking them. Stay tuned for today’s second post.